DLTK's Crafts for Kids
Rope-Style Friendship Bracelets
For fear of sounding silly... I think it's best when you make friendship bracelets for other people and when you wear friendship bracelets that were made for you by other people.
The "friends" don't have to be close friends you've known for years. They can be strangers you're trying to support or cheer up or people you're sharing a brief experience with in the moment.
Including a friendship bracelet with a letter you're sending to a penpal or great aunt or personal hero or ... whomever... gives them a little 'touchstone' that represents the time you were willing to spend on them!
40 years after they were made, I still have a little box of friendship bracelets and other precious things made by my best friends Carla, Patricia and Eileen... and relative strangers that I met for "a moment" at girl guide camps, family reunions and church functions. Knowing how much time friends and strangers invested in my little box of treasures keeps me tied to all the amazing, skilled, generous people in the world.
Isn't it amazing how much love and history a wee bit of thread can convey!
Materials
- 5 equal strands of embroidery floss or yarn
- each 3-6 feet long (depending on how long you want your bracelet to be)
- floss is nicer but a nice thick yarn can be easier to use the first time you do the project
Instructions:
Fold each strand of yarn in half by joining the two ends together and stretching it out.- Line the five different strands up to create a pattern or colour order that you like.
Take the loose end of the strands together in a bit knot (the “u” shapes of the strands should all be able to be separated).
Place the “u” shape of the strand on a finger (there should be three strands on one hand and two strands on the other hand).
- Start with two strands on the left hand (middle and ring fingers) and three strands on the right hand (index, middle, and ring fingers).
- Now you will move your fingers to create a rope-like braid. Here is how the fingers move:
Thread the RING finger of your LEFT hand through two strands of the RIGHT hand (MIDDLE and RING fingers)
Hook your finger around the thread from the INDEX finger of your RIGHT hand- Pull the thread through the other two threads and separate your hands.
Now you RIGHT hand will have two strings on the MIDDE and RING fingers, move those two strings to the INDEX and MIDDLE fingers to get back to the starting position (only with the hands reversed).
- You have just completed one motion. Now repeat that motion until you have achieved the length you like.
- TIP: The nice thing about this bracelet is that you can make it as long as you want and wrap it around your wrist several times and turn it into a necklace.
- TIP: Tape or tie the bracelet to something (I tie the loose ends around my toe and stretch out my leg) to make it easier.
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